Sweetly Dreaming
by Aramina16
Summary: Rumplestilskin is having trouble concentrating as of late with no thanks to his maid. He seeks the refuge and solace of dreamless sleep but finds something he didn't realize he wanted while dreaming.


I felt like a bit of fluff…I hope you like it!

XxOxX

Rumplestilskin rubbed his eyes in frustration. He couldn't concentrate on his task. His mind kept wandering through his important work, no thanks to that housekeeper of his. She made him uncomfortable and made him feel things that he had scarcely felt even before his curse. She embraced him, touched him, and looked at him with those big blue eyes that drove him mad with yearning. She made him question things that he hadn't questioned in years, made him want to please her.

He shoved the ingredients to the side and gripped the wood of the table before pushing himself away with a snarl. His hand came up and fingers threaded through his hair. The motion ended with a jerk of the strands before he turned from his workstation and walked out the door of the tower. Maybe he would sleep and get his mind off of her.

He made his way down the steps of the tower. A walk would do him some good instead of just using his magic to appear in his bedchamber. He had no fear of running into Belle as his part of the castle was off limits to the inquisitive female. His boots made a soft thud on the stones of the floor as his mind raced. He did not need much sleep at all, nor did he want to sleep. It was one of the benefits of magic and his curse. When he slept, he dreamed and when he dreamed nightmares often surfaced. He wasn't safe when he slept and anyone could get past his defenses.

He opened the door with a wave of his hand and entered the large chamber with sparse furnishings. A bed took up a majority of the room with a closet and dresser as well as another spinning wheel. With another wave of his hand he changed his outfit to a sleeping garb and sat down on the bed. He took a deep breath and lay back in the bed. A few hours would give his mind a rest. Just a few hours.

#$#$#$

Rumplestilskin looked around at his surroundings in partial confusion. His castle stood behind him but the courtyard in front of him was different…brighter and fuller of life than what he had done with it before. A movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head.

A small figure was running through the courtyard into a small grove of trees draped in a cloak of dark green. He heard peals of laughter from the form as it disappeared into the shrubbery. The imp gave chase with a whispered name, "Bae." A smile erupted on his face and his chest bloomed with warmth as he entered the small grove. He searched for the little figure on the ground in the shrubs but unbeknownst to him, the little figure had climbed into the trees and was waiting for the opportune time to attack.

Rumplestilskin jerked around in surprise as a small voice yelled, "Catch me, papa!" The tree leaves erupted in movement as the tiny figure jumped down from the trees. He was forced to catch the child rather than let the little one fall to the ground and injure himself. A hood was pulled over the face of the little one, hiding their features from his immediate view.

His arms were filled with a tiny, warm, and giggling child for the first time in nearly 3 centuries. Small arms embraced the imp with joy and a face buried in his neck. His arms tightened around the child with joy and he held his son in his arms with a reverent expression. After a few moments the tendencies of a child to constantly wish to move overcame his ability to keep a good hold on the cloaked figure. He pulled back and lifted a green-grey hand to push back the hood, "Bae…what are you…" His voice died in his throat as a pair of bright blue eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair was revealed in the face of a small female child.

"Bae? I'm not Bae, papa!" The child in his arms giggled before hugging him again, her tiny arms reached around his neck and he felt in shock while she released him and plopped down onto the ground. "Again!" She laughed and raced off to climb into another tree.

He stared after the little girl in shock. Now that he could see her, he noticed the shade of her hair; the color of her cloak was wrong and made of a finer material than Bae's cloak was. Her hair was put up in curls and pinned back with obvious care from her small face. The girl also wore a pair of leather pants and silken top with tiny boots that crunched the grass beneath tiny feet and gave her a good grip on the trees as her arms hauled her into the trees.

"Watch me, papa!" She yelled over at him and climbed into the branches. "I'm tall!" She announced proudly to Rumpelstilskin, who couldn't help but smile back at the child who so obviously adored him, even if he did not know who she was. She reminded him a bit of Belle with those eyes of hers and her slightly rounded face. Her features were sharper than Belle's were, perhaps a gift from her father. "Catch me!" She launched herself off of the tree again and into his arms. This time he was ready for the child and gave her a smile as she hugged him again and hugged her back with the warm feeling of love like the love he felt for his son beginning to bloom in his chest.

"What is going on here, you two?" An unmistakable accent sounded from behind him and he turned around in surprise for the second time in this dream of his to find his caretaker standing behind him with her hands on her hips and a smile on her lips. She was wearing a leather and silk garb as well that matched the child in his arms. Her blue eyes were bright and they shined with affection for him, more than they usually did and it made him squirm slightly and made his heart beat a little faster.

"Mama! Papa was playing a game with me." The child piped up and bounced in Rumple's arms happily, staring at her mother.

"I could see that. You two know better than to play that game." Her voice chided the child gently and she walked toward them. Rumple had to fight the urge to back up and drop the child to avoid what he knew was coming next, but part of him was curious and wondered how this dream was going to work.

Belle stood in front of him and leaned toward him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking the girl-child in his arms and giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Go and play in the garden. Find those kittens that you want to keep." She set the girl on the ground and Rumple saw the immediate resemblance between them especially in the excitement they exhibited.

The child squealed and raced away out of sight. Rumplestilskin immediately wanted to chase after her and keep her in his sights. He felt a strange attachment to the child despite the fact that he knew she couldn't be his, that this could never be real but a part of him wanted it to be real. He felt almost happy…

His vision was suddenly filled with Belle's face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him. Her lips were full and soft against his own and he went rigid momentarily before giving in to the soft caress. She pulled back with a smile and bit her lip, "I've been waiting to do that since this morning. You've been gone all day." She purred and Rumple wrapped his arms around her. In this dream he could live out his fantasies with his housekeeper in the safety of his mind. He would never do anything like this in the waking world, not that the beautiful girl in his castle would want him like that. No one wanted him like that.

Rumple pulled her closer and kissed her again with eagerness. Belle wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "Mama!" Came the yell from near them and they broke apart with a sharp inhale and both looked at the girl running up to them.

"What is it my sweet Chloe?"

Chloe? The child's name was Chloe. She was his dream daughter he supposed. It was so strange being so near to Belle as her body was nearly pressed against his. Physical contact made him nervous but her presence was also soothing.

"Papa! Pick me up!" Chloe lifted her arms expectantly as she neared the two adults and Rumplestilskin couldn't help but indulge her. He lifted her up and held her tiny weight close.

"What is it sweetheart?" He asked her.

"Come to see the kittens!" She demanded with a giggle before pointing to the direction she had come from.

"As the Queen demands." He nodded and jumped as an arm wrapped around his waist. Belle leaned in to give him another kiss on his cheek with a grin before they set off for the destination his daughter wanted to bring them to.

#$#$#

It was a short time later he was watching Chloe play with 5 kittens that chased her around. He was sitting on a blanket that he had conjured up with Belle's head in his lap, watching the playtime. She picked up a grape and bit into the dark purple fruit, chewing while she picked up another and placed it close to his mouth. The imp took the fruit from her hand with his teeth and chewed the sweet morsel. He felt strangely at peace. Happy even.

Everything was perfect….

A scream sounded from the child as a dark cloud of smoke descended on her. Rumplestilskin used his magic to no avail as it drew closer and closer to them. His daughter was surrounded before he could take a step then it came for Belle and took her away as well. His bright castle and the grounds surrounding it were transformed into a barren wasteland in a matter of moments. He let out a cry of rage and heartbreak, bereft of the family that had so taken root in his fragile heart. It was gone and it would never come to pass. Never…

$%$%$

Rumplestilskin came awake with a shout, his chest heaved with panting breaths and he could hear his heart thudding in his ears in a staccato that matched his panic. He looked around wildly at the windows of the chamber and even though he could not see through the heavy drapes he knew it was morning and that his housekeeper would be up and waiting for him at the table. He did not want to see her. He did not want to experience that grief again. She would never want him like that. No one could ever love him.

He stood up and waved his hand, relieved to find his magic had not disappeared and clad himself in his normal clothes before donning his persona and teleporting himself down to the table to find a smiling Belle in her blue dress. She looked up at him and gestured to the table, "You are early. I'll go get the tea." She walked around the table, brushing so near him that he wanted to grab her and pull her close like she had been not a few hours ago in his mind. He watched her leave the room and gave a sigh.

No one….

%$%$

To those who read my other Rumbelle fic….I may write another chapter. But for now this was banging around in my head. So here ya go!


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